Last year, the Director of Public Prosecutions took exception to my suggestion that the then expansion of the role of unqualified caseworkers in the magistrates' courts was an exercise in 'creeping de-lawyerisation' (see [2004] Gazette, 27 May, 14).
It now seems, in the light of the proposed further extension, that it is the galloping version of the phenomenon that is now afflicting the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) (see [2005] Gazette, 6 October, 5).
It seems obvious that the CPS no longer regards what happens in the magistrates' courts as being of any importance.
No doubt anyone contem-plating a career with the CPS will now wish to reflect on whether it is necessary to expend the time, energy and money in qualifying.
This money-saving exercise devalues the work of the existing lawyer staff of the CPS, and will do nothing to improve staff morale.
John Edwards, solicitor and former branch Crown prosecutor, Cheshire
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